If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Boltonville!

Trees, like people and animals, get ill. How do you identify a “tree doctor” if your trees show signs of poor health?

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most common indicator of a problem. Mushroom growth, typically from a trunk or base, is another. A spate of dead limbs can be a symptom.

An ISA-Certified Arborist from Dorshak Tree Specialists is your top bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Boltonville! Trained to detect and diagnose diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that affect Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be evidence of a fertilizer deficit, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist understands the difference, and how to translate the messages of leaf colors!

Averting problems is the most sound approach to tree health. It’s advisable to have your trees inspected every three to five years by a Certified Arborist. Dorshak Tree Service, with seven Certified Arborists on staff, offers this service for free for tree owners in and around Boltonville.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of concern is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify ongoing or potential problems proactively. Blocking a disease or insect infestation is much easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close inspection, though, might discover proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can stop the fungus from decimating and eventually killing these stunning trees.

Another option – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar aesthetics, yet much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Boltonville are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can prevent root rot, an ailment that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

Insect pests pose serious dangers to residential trees. Insects are usually host specific, meaning they target one species. The deadly bronze birch borer attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome introduction for Boltonville homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Boltonville and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is moving west after its discovery in Pennsylvania in 2014. The China native feeds on more than 70 tree species, including maples, oaks, lindens, hickory and black walnut.

Blocking insect damage, once again, is often a matter of proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to take in.

Just as you wouldn’t skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the well-being of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Boltonville.